The Forum for Good Governance (FGG), a Hyderabad-based civic advocacy group, has called on the Telangana state government to immediately constitute a functional Town Planning and Building Tribunal, alleging that nearly a decade after the body was statutorily created, it remains non-operational due to the absence of appointed chairpersons and members. The demand highlights a long-running gap in the state’s mechanism to adjudicate disputes related to unauthorised constructions and building regulation violations, an issue the FGG says has allowed violations to proliferate across urban and semi-urban Telangana.
What happened
FGG president M. Padmanabha Reddy announced the demand at a press interaction, stating that the tribunal was originally constituted in 2016 under the provisions of the Telangana Town Planning and Building Rules but has not been made functional in the intervening years. According to Reddy, no chairperson or members have been appointed to the body, rendering it incapable of hearing or resolving any case.
The FGG has urged the state government to move swiftly to appoint a chairperson and requisite members, enabling the tribunal to begin adjudicating matters and addressing what the organisation describes as a substantial backlog of disputes that have accumulated since 2016. The group has framed the issue as one of both urban governance and rule of law, arguing that the absence of a dedicated quasi-judicial forum has left aggrieved residents, regulatory authorities, and builders without a timely and accessible avenue to resolve construction-related disputes.
Why it matters
Town Planning and Building Tribunals are specialised quasi-judicial bodies designed under Indian urban planning statutes to hear appeals and disputes arising out of building permissions, unauthorised constructions, and related regulatory actions. Their core function is to provide a faster, more accessible alternative to regular civil courts for matters that frequently require technical assessment and time-bound resolution.
When such tribunals remain non-functional, the practical effect is a regulatory vacuum. Aggrieved parties who would otherwise approach the tribunal may be forced to seek relief through civil courts, where proceedings are typically slower and more expensive. Regulatory authorities, in turn, may find it difficult to enforce compliance with town planning rules if orders or directions cannot be tested or confirmed through a competent forum. Builders and developers, meanwhile, face uncertainty over the legal status of projects that may be subject to disputes.
The FGG’s intervention is significant because it focuses on institutional inertia rather than any single project or violation. The allegation is that the state government has failed for nearly ten years to operationalise a body that was created by law, and that this failure has tangible consequences for the enforcement of urban planning norms.
Background and context
The Telangana Town Planning and Building Rules, framed under the broader framework of the Telangana Town Planning Act, provide for the constitution of tribunals to adjudicate disputes related to building permissions, unauthorised constructions, and related matters. The FGG states that the Telangana tribunal was formally constituted in 2016, but the absence of appointments appears to have rendered the body a statutory placeholder rather than an active institution.
This is not unique to Telangana. Across several Indian states, town planning and building tribunals created under state-level urban planning legislation have faced criticism for delayed appointments, vacancies, and prolonged non-functioning. Critics of such delays have argued that they weaken the enforcement architecture for urban planning laws at a time when rapid urbanisation is placing significant pressure on land use, building regulation, and municipal governance.
The issue also intersects with the broader challenge of unauthorised constructions in Indian cities, a category of violation that includes encroachments, deviations from approved plans, constructions in violation of floor area ratio and setback norms, and buildings constructed without valid permissions. While municipal authorities retain powers to act against such violations, the existence of a functional tribunal is widely regarded as an important component of a complete enforcement framework, providing a structured forum for appeals and adjudication.
What to watch next
The FGG’s public demand is likely to test the Telangana government’s stated position on urban governance and regulatory enforcement. Key indicators to watch include:
Appointment timeline: Whether the state government announces the appointment of a chairperson and members to the tribunal, and the speed with which any such appointments are made. The FGG has called for immediate action; whether the government responds with a concrete timeline will be an early measure of seriousness.
Government response: Whether the Municipal Administration and Urban Development Department, which typically oversees town planning functions in Telangana, issues a formal statement on the matter or on the status of the tribunal.
Tribunal caseload: Once operational, the volume and nature of cases filed before the tribunal will provide an early indicator of the scale of unresolved disputes and the extent of unauthorised construction activity that has gone unaddressed.
Legislative and regulatory follow-up: Whether the state government moves to amend rules, streamline procedures, or take supplementary measures to strengthen the tribunal’s functioning once appointments are made.
Civic and judicial scrutiny: Whether the FGG or other civil society actors escalate the matter through legal channels, such as public interest litigation, if the tribunal remains non-functional.
Analysis
The persistent non-functioning of a statutory tribunal created nearly ten years ago raises legitimate questions about administrative priority and the enforcement of urban planning laws. Town Planning and Building Tribunals serve as specialised quasi-judicial bodies designed to expedite disputes that would otherwise burden regular civil courts. Their absence can create a de facto regulatory vacuum, where neither builders nor residents have an accessible avenue to challenge or regularise disputed construction.
The FGG’s intervention highlights how institutional inertia in appointing statutory functionaries can have downstream effects on urban governance, compliance, and the rule of law in the real estate and construction sector. The longer such a tribunal remains non-functional, the more difficult it becomes to retrospectively regularise or adjudicate the disputes that have accumulated in the interim, many of which may involve facts on the ground that have shifted considerably since 2016.
The demand is also relevant to questions of accountability. If a body is created by law, the failure to operationalise it is not merely an administrative oversight; it represents a gap in the legal and regulatory architecture that the state is obligated to maintain. Whether the Telangana government treats the FGG’s call as a prompt for action or as one civic demand among many will signal how seriously it approaches the enforcement of its own town planning framework.
Conclusion
The Forum for Good Governance’s demand for a functional Town Planning and Building Tribunal in Telangana draws attention to a statutory body that has remained inactive since its constitution in 2016. The issue cuts to the heart of urban governance, regulatory enforcement, and access to justice in construction-related disputes. With rapid urbanisation continuing to place pressure on land use and building norms across the state, the operationalisation of the tribunal is likely to be a recurring point of civic engagement in the period ahead.
Sources
The Hindu – https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/telangana/fgg-urges-telangana-govt-to-establish-functional-town-planning-and-building-tribunal-to-address-unauthorised-constructions/article71389955.ece
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Story synopsis gathered from: The Hindu – National — source
